Joseph E. Brown, FASLA

RepresentativeProjects

/ Urban Public Realm: Intimate Scale Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, Washington, DC, USA 1983 ASLA National Honor Award Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

/ Urban Public Realm: Large Scale Tokyo Midtown, Tokyo, Japan Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

/ Multidisciplinary urban design: Intimate Scale 1996 EDAW-Pei Suzhou International Planning Workshop, Suzhou, China Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

/ Multidisciplinary urban design: Large scale Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE Ongoing project Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

/ Land planning: City scale National Capital Memorials & Museums Master Plan, Washington, DC, USA 2003 ASLA National Honor Award Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

/ Land planning: Regional scale St. Joe Million Acre Master Plan, Florida, USA Principal-in-Charge, EDAW

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Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of IndependenceWashington, D.C.Client: National Parks Service

The Signers Memorial dedicated in 1983 on the occasion of the Bicentennial of the United States, is situated in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall. Constitution Gardens has become, as a result the de facto locus for Revolutionary era memorialization, with the Memorial to the Black Patriots of the Revolutionary War (also an EDAW commission) intended nearby.

Commissioned by the National Park Service, EDAW created a low, landscape-oriented memorial occupying a small island in the Gardens’ great pond. Approached across a small bridge that is part of the design, a partial ellipse of closely-set standing stores, each becoming the signature of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, embraces a great view south to the Mall across the pond. The curves and informality of the lines and paving of the design echo the curvilinearity and meandering character of Constitution Gardens. Low enframing walls and bush planting complement the memorial’s sculptural stonework.

• Set the standard for landscape-oriented memorials on the Mall

• Reinvigorated Constitution Gardens

• ASLA Honor Award

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Tokyo Midtown ProjectTokyo, JapanClient: Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

EDAW served as master landscape architects in conjunction with New York master plan architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and Nikken Sekkei to develop the former site of the self-defense agency in Roppongi, Tokyo, one of the largest mixed-use projects undertaken in Tokyo to date.

The 25-acre Tokyo Midtown Project is a world-class mixed-use complex that has become a landmark for the city of Tokyo and the premiere address in Japan. The new development encompasses approximately six million square feet of office, residential, retail, and hotel space.

The landscape design of the Tokyo Midtown Project marks a significant shift in Japanese development, as over 50 percent of the site’s land stands as open or green space. The complex’s diverse elements were designed to be in dialogue with the surrounding open space and expansive greenery, creating a flow between the outdoor environment and the interior of the complex. One of the most notable features of the new landscape design is the more than 130 mature trees that were preserved and transplanted on the site. EDAW’s design for “the greenbelt walkway” recalls the history of the site and the stream that once flowed across it, focusing on traditional Japanese influences with contem-porary design elements in a series of gardens and fountains linked together by a braided walkway.

The project opened on March 30, 2007.

• 25-acre landmark world-class mixed- use complex

• Over 50 percent of site’s land is open or green space

• Former site of self-defense agency

• Featured in several publications including Urban Land magazine and Japan’s lifestyle magazine, Brutus

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Suzhou International Planning WorkshopSuzhou, Peoples Republic of ChinaClient: New Heritage Development Ltd.

Late in 1994 Mayor Zhang of Suzhou solicited the advice of I.M. Pei and his son Ding Pei, an urban planner, regarding the future of this 2500-year-old historic city. They invited EDAW to lead and facilitate a workshop of discovery and problem solving. The area of focus was the 40-hectare Ping Jiang District, one of the last remaining historic areas left within the ancient canal city’s boundaries.

Participants in the two-week workshop were young planners from Suzhou’s planning bureau and students from Tsinghua, Southeast, and Tongji universities. Five teams were organized to cover the key subject areas of the study, which addressed the District’s failing and outdated infrastructure, circulation and housing, and lack of zoning standards.

The workshop outcome is a plan that strives to retain the best features of the District that imbue it with a unique sense of place while allowing for a graceful introduction of contemporary uses to spark economic vitality.

The plan was presented to the Central Government in Beijing for approval for future funding, and preliminary funding endorsements were secured from several international foundations.

• Workshop to spark economic revitalization without compromising historic district

• “Suzhou: Shaping an Ancient City for the New China,” 64-page book published about the workshop

• First Place, Marketing Communications Awards, Book/Monograph category, Society for Marketing Professional Services

Saadiyat IslandAbu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesClient: Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC)

EDAW is working closely with TDIC, Abu Dhabi’s leading tourism development and investment company, to produce the masterplan for Saadiyat Island, a new 2,700 hectare signature urban quarter, to be built on a natural island directly adjacent to Abu Dhabi city. Saadiyat will feature seven unique districts integrating high art, extraordinary waterfront resorts, regional corporate headquarters, extensive residential development, and a vibrant new marina district with a dynamic retail and commercial offer. The project reflects EDAW’s growing role in Abu Dhabi’s transformation.

The highlight of the development is a cultural district that will be the focus for artistic exchange and creative expression for the whole region. The district includes cultural venues designed by some of the world’s most celebrated contemporary architects—Frank Gehry is designing the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi; Jean Nouvel, the Louvre Abu Dhabi; Tadao Ando, a new maritime museum; and Zaha Hadid, a new performing arts centre for the emirate.

Saadiyat will be an example for the next generation of smart-growth planning in the Middle East. The island will be home to over 160,000 residents and a working population in excess of 220,000. Sustainability is a key feature of the design work; the EDAW masterplan aims to restore lost mangrove and beachfront eco-systems, mandate energy-efficient urban densities, introduce mass-transport systems, integrate a wide range of community and education facilities, and provide housing for a broad range of income groups. The overall development of the island will be phased over 15 years, with the first phases becoming operational by 2012.

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E D A W I N C DESIGN, PLANNING, ENVIRONMENTS AND TECHNOLOGY WORLDWIDE

St. Joe West Florida Lands Business Plan StrategyProject Location: Florida PanhandleClient: St. Joe Corporation

EDAW was hired by the St. Joe Corporation to develop a strategic land planning and real estate assessment for the company’s land holdings located on the panhandle of Florida. EDAW was assigned the role of bringing together multiple consultants and the corporation’s new management team which included mixed cultures from Disney Imagineering, Arvida Corporation and St. Joe’s original asset management specialists. EDAW’s charge was to create a market based vision for what types of development may be realistic for the lands, and what portion of the total 1 million acres would be viable for development. EDAW was given six weeks to organize the process and team of consultants, assimilate extremely complex GIS and market data into a user-friendly decision making tool and create an investment and development strategy for land holdings.

The cross disciplinary nature of the EDAW team which included land planners, economic specialists, facilitators and Information Technology specialists were able to rapidly assimilate data and structure. Through three interactive workshops with the client and consultants in less than a six week period, EDAW and the team were able to develop an overall market responsive approach to master planning, identifying clear opportunity sites and potential markets that would increase development activity.

Critical to the success of this project was the extensive use of GIS technology. An extensive, seamless GIS database was assimilated for this project that covered fourteen counties. USGS 1:24,000 DLG data formed the baseline data on which the St. Joe properties were draped over. A series of filters were applied to the database to identify potential development constraints and lands that possess the best potential for development. ArcView was used to create and plot several hundred maps at multiple scales for the numerous stakeholder workshops.

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Memorials and Museums Master PlanWashington, D.C.Client: National Capital Planning Commission

Washington, D.C. is a monumental city where the symbolic values of the nation are on display. Historically, the majority of national memorials and museums that symbolize these values have been concentrated on the National Mall, a “special place” for commemoration in the heart of Washington, D.C. However, January 2000 ushered in a new direction for the National Mall: a Commemorative Zone Policy limits the construction of new memorials on the Mall and encourages the placement of future commemorative works in all quadrants of the District.

The Memorials and Museums Master Plan identifies and promotes new sites in Washington to accommodate future demand for commemorative works, as well as encourage redevelopment and community identity in overlooked neglected areas of the city. The Master Plan includes a design framework that builds upon historical precedents, including the L'Enfant Plan of 1791, the McMillan Plan of 1901, and NCPC's Extending the Legacy Plan of 1997, and is intended to redefine the Monumental Core.

• Framework based on major design principles, including symbolic prominence, visual linkages, and aesthetic quality, to guide the placement of new memorials and museums

• Implementation strategies, based on urban design, economic, transportation, and environmental criteria

• Site evaluations that serve as a manual for prospective memorial and museum sponsors

• Outstanding Award, American Planning Association, National Capital Area Chapter

• Distinguished Award for Planning Project, American Planning Association, Virginia Chapter

• AIA Award, American Institute of Architects, Virginia Chapter

• National Award, American Planning Association, Federal Division

• Merit Award, American Society of Landscape Architects, Potomac and Maryland Chapters